My MS Story

Friday, March 13, 2015

Today my husband and I traveled to our state capital Carson City, NV where we participated in a Breakfast and Learn hosted by the National MS Society at the Nevada Legislature. There were about 10 of us total and 5 of us were MS patients. We greeted members of the Nevada Senate/Assembly and staff from various departments at the legislature. I was supposed to give a speech but most people only had a few minutes to drop in for breakfast in between sessions. So instead we all took time to answer questions and learn what others knew and didn't know about MS.

One person that really stood out to me was a young woman named Amerika. Her mother was diagnosed with MS and she didn't feel like the doctor knew enough to really deal with MS and the level of care associated with an MS patient. These are the people that I have the biggest heart for. I gave her my personal contact information and told her to tell her mother not to hesitate to reach out to me for support and questions that I could help with. I hope she calls me.

After several hours we went to the assembly floor where we were paired with an assemblyman or assemblywoman. I was paired with assemblymanChris Edwards. The session was shorter than expected being that it was Friday and everyone was eager to go home to their respective cities to spend a final free weekend. Things were expected to really ramp up the following Monday.

My husband and I enjoyed this experience. It was neat to see that our state legislature reps were actually laid back and had a great sense of humor. Everyone seemed to get along no matter what party they identified with. Our main goal was to share our knowledge and awareness about MS with the people that would one day have to vote whether to pass a bill that directly affects MS patients and caregivers.